Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-08-01
SOME REASONS
Advanced by IA Correspondent Against
the Electric Railway,

to Thirty-ninth; thence east to Wood
down Wood to Forty-third; thence Yves
to Jacob. and down Jacob to the southeIl
limits of the city.
/ This road proposes to parallel the pres
eut Citizens Railway COmpany's line,
corporation that has been operating a lin
/ for about twenty years in our midst, an'
whichEn that time has experienced ahon
all the mutations of good, bad and indli
terent fortune incident to investments o
capital in our city, including, if am no
in error a depreciation of its stock at on
time TO 80 cents on the dollar
Itmust he obvious to any person of un
biased Judgment that two parallel lines o
street railway in this small community
cannot pay either liue, and it looks ~ i
/ the project was more of a speculative EN-
| terprise than anything else; got up, as j
would seem, 10 he ultimately bought of
or else absorbed in the existing line, aS is
50 much the speculative habit OF tn,
day.
The city Of Wheeling has an enlightened
| interest in not only encouraging the in
vestmcut Of capital in new enterprises but
likewise in protecting enterprises that SHE
/ has induced citizens To embark IN, unleS'
she proposes to undo with one hand wha
/ she has done with the other, which - very
! bad policy for the future. Let it he once
understood that the city can he induced Il
render unprOductivc existing enterprise
and Their, Is IN end To all induCement Il
90 into new ones. Wheeling is stugnan
| Ia. day from the feeling Of timidity, an,
this feeling will grow worse instead ot bet
| ter if system OF spOIllatIon Is to he EN-
tered upon by the City Council.
Now to begin with, no one believes thai
/ a street railroad is needed or wanted down
! Main street from Tenth To the creek, mas
much rs it is our principal business street
| largely wholesale business At that, that re
uulrtS plenty of room and freedom from
/ obstruction Tor It's transaction. NOIeal in
| terrst in the city would be SuhServed by !
/ line on Main street between these points
On the contrary, it would be Il positive in
! Jury to the street. This would be true N
any kind ol u railway on that street, but
! tits duubly true ot such railroad as l.
proposed Electrical motive power i,
something that Is in a very crude state o
/ development. aud that requires for tn,
overhead operation OF y street meter i
| line Of many posts on either side Of the
| track, strung with wires, which is a matter
of public Inconvenience, OF general I'M
Sightlinrss, saying nothing of the moist
made
Would this sort of plant he an acquiSi
! ton 10 Main street, surprising this To be
the one intended. | think any property
owner on that street would condemn il a
/ "a nuisance. As is well known, the effort i,
in cities to get the increasing multitude %
telegraph and telephone wires under
ground, and not have houses and street,
covered with them, as is rapidly becoming
the case, and still less street, fenced ii
with them There is not, we venture, q
| leading street in one of the great cities o
the country in which motor 70 he Opcr-
ated by overhead process would be- allowed
| But aside from these obvious objections
| To the introduction of such an undesirable
state OF things on principal street of the
| city, there Is also something TO he said III
regard to the ordinance itself irrespective
OF the kind OF motive power 10 he used.
| In the first place, it provides Tor perpet-
ual franchise, and IN the next, ii provides
! Tor no power Of revocation or amendment
on the part of Council. The company is to
be absolute aud independent IN these re-
spects, no matter what the tXigencirs OF
the future may he This, it need not be
argued, is most ohjecti uable and dan.
gcrouS grant OF power,
Next, this company is to be exempt
| from taxation for fifteen years ~ to the
tracks, ears, motors, deput-, income and
property In other words, ~ regards all
the property owned by the company.
This * an exemption that was never eN.
tended to the old company, even in the
pioneer days of twenty years ago, when II
was so hard to get the stock taken, and
when every subscriber was hailed Is a
public spirited citizen. Throughout all IT.
years the company has paid the taxes
| from which this company is To he exempt
eel, and nov it is to pay, IN addition to
what it has paid and is paying, special
| tax of So per car. This is the way that
an old enterprise is to be Disseminated
against for the benefit Of a new one. And
this is the evidence OF fair treatment and
good faith that is to he held out To future
enterprises.
OF course il will be said that the shares
of the new company can be taxed in the
hands of the stockholders. And so indeed
such shares in it u may he owned III
Wheeling could he taxed. To those who
do not look below the surface this seems
to he contemplated by providing for such
taxation on said shares when the same
are in the hands or belonging to iudiyid
ualS or citizens or other corporations IN
Ih,nljng" But what about the shares not
held in Wheeling, What if il should turn
ont that this j. to all intents and purposes
a foreign corporation. In that case how Is
the city To yet its tax Why Vas not til,
exemption made in the ease of the old
company. Why is that company required
to pay tax here irrespective Of where it,
shares may be held, Is it because the
shares of this new company are expected
| 10 hc h,Ia elsewhere thai this provision Is
| inserted in the ordinance
While upon this point desire to call the
attention Of Council To the ninth section
ur the tenth article of the Constitution al
West Virginia, which they have sworn ia
support II is in these words:
Tn, Legislature may hy law authorize IA,
rurpurai" huthurIiIv. of Durr iuNUS ana Villages
fer ,DrIur3l" purposes. to- as,,"s lt.d .uitr.lmstr
bul Nunu taxes shall hr uniform with rrruu"t o.
| persons and property within lHr jurisdiction al
| the authority mpu,Iug the same
! But this Is not all that is proposed in
| the 80, GIryemption and discrimination
The old company ms I,,,G AMI is still pay
ing thousands Of dollars to help lay tn,
new pavement in the city. This new
company does not propose toply one dol
/ lar IN that direction il does not even
prnpn~,. Ia pN4c the streets between its
| tracks, much less rUr ole mot on either
| side OF its tracks rs in the case of the old
company. ItproposeS to have the city do
this, and the city will do it il the orli
nance passes in its present shape. Thi,
! Is another specimen of the discrimination
that Is contemplated by tho uew deal.
/ Then, again, examine what is proposed
/ in the matter of gauge between the rails
| The old company was required 10 put
down a track five feet two inches wide he
twrr.. the rails. More than this. 1t wa,
required to pat down . Eve-inoh tram
rail Why, I'm order 10 a,cOmnOdat,
| travel in order to allow the wagons aud
vehicles of the city to track in its rails aud
have easy hauling over smooth road.
! Why was not the same provision required